Ibanez Ragtime R400 Guitar

This listing was posted on Americanlisted.

Ibanez Ragtime R400 Guitar

Location:

Dickinson, TX

Description:

Extremely Rare** -- Highly collectible and highly desirable Ibanez R400 Ragtime Special Fingerpicker designed acoustic guitar made in Japan by Hoshino Gakki circa 1981. This guitar is from the original Ragtime series made by Hoshino Gakki in Japan circa 1981 and is not the later models made in Korea in the 1990s. This R400 Ragtime is a beautiful high quality, extremely well made, serious guitar conceived and designed for fingerpickers and ragtime player guitarists by Hoshino Gakki. The Ragtime has a new body shape with a vaulted, violin style back and a smooth Venetian cutaway that allows access to all 24 frets and a fingerboard extension that makes a full 4 octaves available. The fingerboard attaches to the body at the 14th fret. The Ragtime is easy to play and has low action with no buzzes. The top has special bracing with 5 fan braces and is designed for both increased power and volume. All the 5 top braces are select spruce and are shaped by hand for maximum performance and are in a fan configuration. The Ragtime measures 40 1/2 inches in length, body length is 19 inches, lower bout measures 15 inches and the body depth is 4 1/2 inches and has a beautiful smooth Venetian style cutaway. The wide oval fingerboard is 44mm wide and the nut is made of bone that gives a brighter ringing tone. The unique "D" shape of the sound hole is supposed to give better projection than round soundholes. This unique soundhole and its rosette makes it possible to eliminate the bracing around the soundhole inside the guitar and allows the top more freedom to vibrate. The oval label inside the soundhole is marked "Ibanez Ragtime Special", "Specially designed and meticulously crafted for the fingerpicker by Ibanez", "Model no. R-400, Serial No. 81081253 J", "Japan". I have played and collected acoustic guitars for over 40 years and this is only the 2nd R400 Ragtime I have ever seen. I have the other one in my collection. The Ragtime Guitar Select spruce top is a beautiful honey-amber color and the sides and vaulted back are mahogany in a beautiful rich dark mahogany color. The body has a 5 layer black and vintage ivoroid binding. The bottom of the binding on the sides of the guitar have a black and white vintage purfling. The back is bound with the same vintage ivoroid binding and the same black and white purfling on the sides as does the guitar top. The back has a double stripe down its center. The Ragtime has a "D" shaped soundhole with a mahogany rosette that has vintage black and white purfling. This "D" shaped hole is very reminiscent of Django Reinhardt's Selmer MacAferri jazz guitar. The beck and headstock are mahogany.

Category:

Guitars

Color:

Black

Posted:

July 24 on Americanlisted